I'm Only Human
by xMemoirx
Summary: It was probably the stupidest, most cliche thing she had ever done- running away from home. But she had to TRY to make amends for what the empire's done.... right? I suck at summaries, and sadly I don't own Invader Zim... but you knew that!
1. Goodbyes

1:Goodbyes

How had it gotten this way? I glared at Tak and felt the cold metallic sting of the gun against my throat. What was taking her so long? _Shoot me. End it. _Her malicious smile said it all. She enjoyed my suffering But it wasn't the cuts and bruises that hurt the most, it was the fact that I'd never get a chance to say goodbye. Dib and Gaz. I'd been staying with them for a few months now. They'd given me a place to call home, a refuge. And now they were lying at my feet, each of them with enough tranquilizer in their systems to keep them asleep for weeks. Zim was probably taking them back to the Massive, where the empire could use them. At least they'd live. I let one tear fall as Tak pulled the trigger.Before you die, they say your life flashes before your eyes. But then, I hadn't started living until recently. Escape from the empire, the crash, becoming human. I shut my eyes and let it play through my mind one more time.

"Goodbye."

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This is just the prologue, more coming soon. R&R, please!


	2. Runaways

2:Runaways

"Dammit!" Chi screamed at the top of her voice. Sirens were going off in every corner of the room, red lights flashing, a computer voice announcing intruders on the roof level.

"Chi, hurry and plant the bomb, we've gotta go! Now!" The robot nodded her head and tossed the explosive at the control brain. It attached itself to the screen with a satisfying _tick _and began beeping a countdown. I grabbed Chi and leapt through the open hatch in the roof, where our stolen voot cruiser was parked on the deck of the Massive. It quickly scanned us as I pulled the windshield down.

" Identities confirmed: Wave and SIR unit Chi." I collapsed in the welcoming plush seats and kicked at the auto pilot button. The ship took off from the roof of the Massive, just narrowly avoiding the yellow-orange explosion. I stared back, hypnotized, at the product of our work. Rubble floating through the air, the huge crater, and the sparking remains of the computer that controlled the entire empire. Beautiful.

Chi's eyes paled to green.

"It asploded mistress!"

"Don't call me that again! You're with me, and I'm a fugitive, so that means you don't have to follow that stupid SIR code. That includes calling me 'mistress', 'master', or anything to that effect! Got it?"

"Yes! I mean, no! Yes? Hee hee!" Chi laughed hysterically and rolled off the seat onto the floor. Chi was a good partner, fifty percent of the time. The other half? She was just Chi. To call her hyper would be the understatement of the century. I leaned back in the seat and pondered where we would go next. As if reading my mind, Chi handed me a checklist, with the names of every planet in the universe, and check marks next to the ones we had already been to.

"Chi, where did you get this?"

" I been keeping it! Ever since we left Dirt!" The planet Dirt was where I had found Chi's remains. Needing a new SIR, I had decided to salvage them, and teach the robot to the best of my ability. The latter wasn't working out so well.

"Um, that's a little too convenient." I muttered.

"It's bad writing."

"What?"

"Nothing, Wave." Chi giggled. I ignored my robot. Sometimes she said the weirdest things. But, it was better this than to go a planet where I was wanted. I'm a fugitive. I might be Irken, but that doesn't mean I agree with what the empire does. They conquer planets, force people to do slave labor. They never think once that these are really people, with lives and feelings. So, I completed invader training, and took off with a voot, never regretting what I was doing. What do I do? I assist the conquered planets, stealing weaponry, armor, money, and food from the Irken military and giving it to those who want to make a difference, to break free. However, the authorities had a price on my head almost everywhere in the galaxy. I was running out of places to go. With that thought in my head, I scrolled a finger down the column that was titled 'Milky Way.'

"How about… Earth? It seems peaceful enough, and I really need a break." We had hit three planets in the last month, and running from Irken soldiers gets pretty tiring after a while.

"I'll set the coordinates!" Chi happily tapped away at the navigation screen, setting us on a course toward Earth. This was going to be interesting.

Dib gazed up at the night sky. Something was coming. He could feel it. Almost on cue, a pale purple comet flicked across the sky and was gone in a second. That was the first time he'd seen a purple tail since Zim came. Two aliens. Earth needed his help now more than ever.

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Chapter 1 is officially up! R&R please!


	3. Refuge

3:Refuge

I wasn't sure what woke me up: Chi's high-pitched screams, the computer alerting me of an unstable landing, or the throbbing pain in my right side.

"Warning! Engine failure! Death eminent!" The voot's computer voice yelled.

"Chi, what the hell happened?!" The robot's eyes flashed red.

"An Irken patrol spotted our ship and fired at the back. I chased 'em off though!" Her eyes went green as she spoke the last statement.

That explained the huge, throbbing bruise in my side; the shots must've shaken the ship and I'd been thrown against something. If it shook that much, I could only pray that we were on course. I glanced at the navigation screen and saw snow. Perfect. Just. Freakin'. Perfect. Without thinking, I grabbed Chi and yanked the windshield up. We were entering Earth's atmosphere, and some small houses were coming into view. My ocular implants annoyingly zoomed in towards Zim's "base", automatically singling out the only Irken technology on the planet. _Anywhere but there. _I prayed for my life and shut my eyes, kicking off the ship towards the ground. Everything went dark.

--

I pulled myself up off the ground with all the strength I could muster and looked around hazily for Chi. She was wobbling out from behind a bush, pulling at a piece of grass that was caught on her antenna.

"Someone get the license plate off that ship…" I massaged my forehead and checked my surroundings. It was dark, except for a light coming from a window a couple yards away. Thankfully, we had landed near someone's house. Hopefully, someone who didn't mind loaning out a room.

"I'm dizzy!" Chi exclaimed, whirling around in circles and dropping on the ground with a _clang._

"And tired." She added.

"Is it even possible for a robot to be tired? Never mind, Chi. We need shelter, and I only see one option right now." I walked toward the door and took in a deep breath as I knocked.

--

Dib's head shot up off the keyboard. Glancing hazily at the clock, he realized it was way past midnight. A thumping noise came from downstairs, but who would be knocking at this hour? The computer screen eerily glowed red in the dark room. He had fallen asleep spying on Zim. Again. He heard the knock come again, but louder, more desperate.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He mumbled sleepily. He wrenched the door open.

"What do you-" Dib's voice caught in his throat as he got a good look at his visitor. Smooth, green skin. Tightly curled, black antennae. Huge, shining blue eyes. An Irken.

They stood there for some time, just staring at each other. Him with a look of shock, her silently pleading this would go well. Dib broke the silence first.

"Who are you, and what have you come here to do?" She sighed and looked at her feet.

"My name is Wave, I'm Irken." Before she could finish explaining herself, he gasped and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"So you're with Zim, trying to conquer Earth for the Empire!"

"Okay, I know how this might look, but no, I'm not. Do you see any weapons?" She asked, spreading her arms out. There was suddenly a high-pitched giggling from behind Wave. Dib peered over her shoulder to see a small robot – much like Zim's- waving at him.

"And that's your personal secretary?"

"That's Chi, she's my SIR."

"And a SIR is…?" She was getting annoyed at all the questions. _But we need the shelter._

"SIR: Standard Information Retrieval unit. Irkens use them to gather information for missions, or just generally help out. They have a defensive mode, which has the ability to fatally injure, but Chi's defenses have been disabled. I swear. I'm not like that moron Zim."

"Okay…" the boy was lowering his guard slightly. "What are you here for then?" She sighed and looked at her feet before gesturing behind her. There was a spaceship – much like Tak's – laying in a scorched, sparking heap in the middle of his backyard. "Oh…my….god." Was all he could manage to choke out. "So…your ship crashed… and you need shelter I'm guessing? Even though I'd have to be completely insane to help an Irken; the same race that's trying to conquer or possibly destroy the planet." Wave laughed bitterly and nodded. _This could be a great opportunity to learn more about Zim's race._Dib thought to himself. _Or this is a bad dream, and it'll all be gone when I really wake up._ With that thought in mind, he muttered "Okay. Okay. Fine, come in. You can have the spare room, I guess. Just try not to wake up my sister; she's a light sleeper with an anger problem-" Dib launched into a hurried list of the rules in place while leading her to her new room. "- and that's it basically. If you need anything, just tell me. My room is across the hall… knock first. Goodnight, I guess." He scratched the back of his head and was about to close the door to his room when she spoke up for the first time in five minutes.

"Um, could you tell me your name?" Her voice was cracked with exhaustion, and she looked like she was about to collapse on the floor.

"It's Dib."

--

I curled up under the sheets of my new bed, thankful for the chance to really rest for the first time since before we left for the Massive. Chi had gone into sleep mode and made a temporary bed out of spare sheets on the floor. I didn't really know if Dib could be trusted, but he had given us a room for the night, and that had to count or something.

Letting out one last yawn, I could only hope for the best before slipping into sleep.

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Chapter 3's up... I might just quit this fic if I don't get some reviews soon...


	4. Letters

I have reviewers! Shadow-Khajiit- You are my first reviewer on this site. -hands cookie-

Happy Happy Punk- I have a fan. -hands cookie-

Enjoy the chapter!

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4:Letters

I opened my eyes to a blinding light leaking in through the voot's windshield. What was that? The windshield was tinted, it shouldn't be this bright! I sat up quickly and looked around. Oh, yeah. I'm on Earth. Silly me, my only home for the past two years was lying in a smoking heap in this kid's backyard. Oh joy. _Don't cry._ Things could be much worse, I thought to myself. I could be lying in a cold jail cell back on Irk. Speaking of which…

"Where are we Chi?" My robots eyes flickered from black to green as she rebooted.

"Dib's house!" This was going to be _fun._ I gritted my teeth before responding.

"Okay. And his house is where?"

"On Earth! In the Milky Way! Candy bar…" Chi spaced out and began staring into the distance.

"Remind me why I let that robot try sugar." I muttered to myself, stretching my legs out. I dug my clothes out of the small backpack I had saved from our crash and got dressed. Stupid, pinkish, standard issue Irken military uniform. Antennae loosely curled at the end. I guessed they'd been messed up from my restless sleeping. Whatever, I had some serious salvaging to do, and cute antennae weren't going to help me with that. _Like anyone cared about that in the first place._ I mused walking downstairs towards the back door. I jerked the door open and felt the sun on my face; it felt nice outside today. Before I could step outside I felt someone grab my hand and tug me back. I whirled around to face Dib. The door slammed.

"What do you think you're doing?" I looked him up and down. Bare feet, black flannel pajama pants, and a blue tee shirt. His wire rimmed glasses sat on his nose at an awkward angle. His black hair was in a scythe, which had random strands of hair coming sticking off it. I smirked a little at this; it reminded me of he way one of my old friend's antennae looked.

"Well, I thought I'd go out, catch some rays. Vitamin D. No, I have to see of there's anything I can salvage from my crashed ship."_ Anything that might tell that stupid military where I am._ "By the way, your hand is extremely cold, did you sleep in the refrigerator or something?" I knew that it was the fact that my PAK always kept my body heat generously high, but I had to see exactly how much he knew about this kind of technology. If not, get a good laugh out of it.

"I don't walk around with a life-support on my back. Sorry."

"Impressive. Tell me exactly what PAKs do." I smirked looking at my fingernails. This would be entertaining.

"PAKs help Irken adapt to any aspects of an environment that would be lethal to them otherwise. They can heal some sicknesses, filter air, and they control body temperature." Wow, had to give him credit- he knew Irk's technology.

"Okay, so if I'll be completely safe here, why can't I go outside?"

"Haven't you noticed that you don't exactly look like a human? People would be kind of curious if they saw a green skinned girl walking around my backyard. I admit we have to do something about the ship, but not while you look like that!" As if to help prove his point, Chi walked in and flipped the top of her head open. "I think I've made my point. Humans don't have robots walking around their house. Or green skin." He did have a point. I sighed and crossed my arms.

"Okay, I'll get a disguise I guess. What does Zim's look like?" I might hate him, but if he was blending in here, so could I.

"His disguise wouldn't fool anyone!"

"But is it working? He hasn't been discovered?" Dib shook his head slowly, and his eyes widened when he understood what I was getting at. "I don't need a good disguise, just something that'll fool the average person. So, maybe a wig to cover the antennae, and some new clothes?"

"That's…. a strange idea, but it might work. Hold on a minute." Dib left the room and came back a minute later with a longhaired black wig. "Try this on." I looked at it for a minute before letting my eyes slide back to him.

"_Why _do you have a girl's wig ?"

"I'd rather not explain it."

"That's okay, I'm not sure I want to know." I smirked tucking my antennae back and putting the wig on over them.

"When Gaz gets up you can ask her if she has anything you can wear… but don't count on it, she's never nice to strangers. Or me."

"She can't be that bad." I trailed off and looked at my feet. On Irk, nobody knew their parents. Everything was done by machine there, which explained why everyone was identical at birth. And why nobody had any real siblings.

"Someone say my name?" A sharp female voice brought me back to reality. I looked up and noticed a purple haired girl standing in the doorway. She had dark eyes ringed with smudged eyeliner. This wasn't helped by the fact that she looked mad enough to burn a hole through the wall by simply staring at it.

"G-Gaz." Dib stuttered, "This is Wave, she's the new exchange student at our school. I'm supposed to show her around town. She-" I smacked a hand over his mouth.

"_She _can speak for herself. Gaz, my closet's kind of thin so I was wondering if you had anything that fits me." The girl closed her eyes for a minute before nodding and gesturing for me to follow her. Gaz led me into her room and flung open the closet doors.

"Take your pick." I had to say I was impressed. She had an expansive closet, and the clothes looked pretty expensive.

"How do you afford all this?" Gaz smirked a little before answering.

"My Dad's a famous scientist. Enough said." Great. I had chosen to crash in the backyard of one of the most famous people in the world. _It figures that something like this would happen to me, doesn't it?_ I started looking through the closet and picked out a black and white striped tank top and a pair of black jeans.

"This okay with you?" Gaz nodded when I held the clothes up. I started to walk out of the room but stopped when I heard the sharp voice from behind me.

"One thing. What girl in her right mind would actually want to hang out with Dib? He's so…weird." The question caught me off guard. Being seen with Dib would make me stand out, but at the same time, he was helping me blend in.

"Well, he's not that bad. He seems nice to me."

"Whatever." Gaz snorted and switched on her Gameslave. I rolled my eyes and headed to my room to change. Maybe it was better that I didn't have a brother or sister if this is how they treated each other. As soon as I pulled the shirt over my head, my PAK's spider legs began cutting a hole in the back of the shirt. It had to be exposed at all times so that it could filter air, but I wished there was a less conspicuous way to do it. I took a pair of scissors out of a drawer and cut the arms off my gloves. It was way too hot to wear long gloves in this weather. I glanced in the mirror before dashing downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Ta-dah." I said in a monotone voice before impatiently turning the doorknob. "Can I go outside now?"

"Fine, but only if you let me look over your shoulder."

--

It wasn't good. We had been looking all day, and hadn't found anything. No food, medicine, or "flame resistant blankets" had made it. _Stupid military-issued crap._ The basic frame of the ship was all that was left, the rest of it ashes.

"Well, that was enlightening." Dib mumbled sarcastically.

"No, I'm going to find something. I changed my entire appearance just to come out here! I'm not going in until I find something!" I ran my fingers through what used to be the voot's storage compartment. Nothing. I turned to check the control panel (or what was left of it) when I noticed a small silver glint. The implants in my eyes caught the sudden light and zeroed in on it. I dug through the cinders until I felt a familiar shape slip into my hand.

"My communicator!"

"My ears." Dib moaned and turned around. "What is it?"

"It's my communicator. I use it keep in contact with my friends on Irk. I just hope it still works…" I flipped it open and slid my thumb over the power switch. The screen flickered blue and white before a robotic voice reported that I had two waiting messages. "Yes!"

"How does it work?"

"Well, it's too hard for me to explain, so I'll just show you." I scrolled through my list of contacts and found who I was looking for. "Okay, so I'm sending a message to Pez." I spoke into the small microphone below the screen. "Hey, it's me. Haven't checked your messages yet, just wanted to let you guys know I'm here. Tell Bid that…. Nothing. Just reply." I hit the send button and flipped it shut.

"So, who's Bid?"

"I'll answer that when you tell me why you have a girl's wig." I smirked at him before dropping the crescent-shaped communicator into my PAK

"Okay. Be that way. But I'll get it out of you eventually."

"If you say so." He yawned and stretched his arms. Humans get tired so quickly. I could go almost a week before needing to sleep again. Another great feature PAKs provide.

"I think I'm going to bed. It's been a long day."

"I have to check these messages…god only knows what Bid wanted."

"When you talk about him like that, I just wonder even more who he is."

"Keep wondering." I saluted him with two fingers and pushed the door to my room shut.

--

I sat on the roof and flipped my communicator open.

"Messages." I said to the microphone.

"Message from General Bid on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008. Playing:"

"Hey, it's me. Wave, you have to come back while you still can. I can't keep talking the Tallest out of your death sentence. I don't want to do this, but I'll have to take you by force if you don't come quietly. I'm sorry. Tell Chi that I said hi. And check your other message. I sent you something." I checked my box and smiled when I saw the music note icon.

"One new MusicNote. Playing:"

"Your favorite song, enjoy." I heard a guitar strumming before a soft Japanese voice began singing. I let the familiar music wash over me as I tipped my head back, gazing at the sky. I felt the wig slide off and my antennae swaying in the breeze. How many late nights had I spent like this? Sitting on the roof of the Massive, listening to music or talking to Bid. _Stop it._ Being homesick wouldn't help me now. I flipped the communicator shut and held my head in my hands. _Just send him a message so you'll stop thinking about it!_

"I can't come back. I told you, what they're doing is wrong. I wasn't lying when I said I wouldn't stand for it. If you try to bring me back, I'll defend myself. If you send Tak for me, I'll draw blood. Good luck." I flipped the communicator shut and climbed down to my room, telling myself I'd meant every word of it. I pulled off my boots and jeans, pulled the bed sheets up to my neck, and let sleep claim me.

The song played through my head all night.

* * *

Okay, sorry that took so long! But this is a longer and better chapter than the others in my opinion. Read and review, I'll update ASAP.

Oh, almost forgot the disclaimer: the song is Letters by Utada Hikaru, I don't own it. You can find a link to the song in my profile.

The next chapter won't be in Wave's point of view, but you'll get to learn more about who Pez and Bid are.


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